In flight control of an aircraft, it is normal practice to compensate for crosswinds that affect the aircraft during landing maneuvers by using a rudder to oppose the weathercocking effect of the vertical stabilizer fin. Crosswinds will cause the aircraft to point away from the direction of the runway. The aircraft thus approaches the runway sideways, which is known in the industry as crabbing. The operator of the aircraft attempts to maintain a flight course that corresponds to the aircraft heading and to reduce crabbing of the aircraft, especially during low airspeed landings when reduced wind correction angles are desirable.
The management of aerodynamic forces on an aircraft during landing maneuvers with crosswinds at the runway in excess of the aircraft's usual directional control capabilities can be improved by increasing the landing speed. This has many disadvantages, however, including the disadvantage of requiring relatively long runways for bringing the aircraft to a stop once it has touched down.
During crosswind landing maneuvers of a typical aircraft, the rudder is used to decrab the aircraft to the runway heading. The use of the aircraft rudder to completely decrab the airplane to the runway heading has not heretofore been feasible in a 30 knot crosswind landing with conventional rudder travel of about 22.degree./22.degree.. It is possible to achieve a steady state sideslip capability of about .beta.=14.5.degree. ##EQU1## during landings with low crosswind speeds, but usually it is not possible to achieve the need full rudder steady state sideslip capability in a 30 knot crosswind. Designing the aircraft for increased rudder travel does not result in increased steady sideslip angle capability as the aircraft pilot attempts to completely decrab the airplane prior to touchdown.